This is the story of a near-apology-but-not-really-an-apology that was made public this week and is being talked about and debated across sections of national and world media. The incident, for which the near-apology-but-not-really-an-apology was issued, happened a long time back.

When the incident took place, a community was systematically targeted and ostracised. So much so that, tired of the discrimination and the state-encouraged ghettoisation, a prominent and decorated member of the community killed himself. The perpetrators of that discrimination were seen as the saviours of religion and faith. In fact, they were, and still are, hailed in sections of the media, and a large proportion of the population in the state supports them.